How Branded Packaging Can Improve Brand Identity

Whether you are the owner of a brick-and-mortar store, or renting a booth at a major conference in your industry, you’ve likely given some thought to how you’re going to packaging your products.

There are many reasons to opt for paper or plastic bags customized with your name on them, as opposed to plain bags which typically cost the business less money – but is this extra effort worth the cost?

Benefits of Branded Products

Whether it’s a pen or tote bag, products with your company’s logo are a great way to generate customer awareness and leads for your business. Custom branded promotional products are powerful tools and will give your company many exposure opportunities at a low cost.

Businesses that use branded products as promotional tools are more likely to see sales and a return on investments. On average, a promotional product will create over 1,000 impressions per month per customer. Most customers keep their promotional products for a few months, leading to even more impressions. Other customers may give promotional products to others as gifts instead of throwing them away, which further increases the number of impressions a single product will produce.

At ePromos, we have a wide range of products that can be custom branded to promote your business. Keep reading to learn why your company should use corporate promotional products.

Cost-Effective Marketing

Many companies may build brand awareness through digital marketing or television commercials. While these methods may be an effective form of exposure, they can be costly for startups or smaller businesses. Promotional products are a cost-effective alternative that will give you months of exposure. The cost per impression (CPI) of using branded products can cost as little as one-tenth of a cent, making promotional products cheaper than any other advertising option. Your customers will keep these products for months to create more interactions with the product.

Better Than Business Cards

While using a business card can create exposure for your business, promotional products can add a unique and creative flair to any advertising campaign. Eighty percent of customers have an immediate reaction after receiving a promotional product from a company. This positive reaction is not always the case with business cards. Since your customer will use or see their branded product every day, you will also boost retention rates. Almost 85% of customers remember the advertiser that gave them a branded product, making them more likely to choose your company.

Build Brand Recognition

All businesses have a common goal of building strong and positive brand recognition. Companies want to stand out while being true to the core values of their customers. By using promotional products, your customer will see your logo or company name every day, ensuring your brand name is never far from their minds.

Putting your brand on products your customers use every day reinforces your marketing message without being overwhelming. Many customers enjoy receiving promotional products and view them as valuable to their daily lives. These positive feelings also affect how your customers interact with your brand. When surveyed, 88% of millennials have a favorable view of a brand after

A Walking Advertisement

There is a large marketing opportunity with having your logo and/or message on every bag that leaves your store or conference booth. While it may not seem like much, having your customers carrying around your logo for all to see is a great way to get more eyeballs on your brand.

At a trade show, you’re surrounded by lots of potential prospects as well as many competitors, so any way you can keep your brand top of mind is important. You can get creative and use standout packaging that people will be excited to show off, usually with a minimal additional investment.

“Our shopping bag is a piece of advertising that our customers proudly exhibit walking down the street, going to the market, at the airport and in countless other scenarios extending beyond shopping at Bloomingdale’s,” said EVP of Creative Services Jack Hruska. “It’s a great marketing tool.”

If the packaging is heavy duty enough, many people will also reuse them to give gifts in or other keep for other household uses. In fact, 34% of people will keep a bag if it looks good! This way, your name or marketing message stays in their home, to be revisited or reused time and time again, helping to ensure your name sticks in their minds.

Customer Loyalty

Promotional products are an ideal way to boost client retention and brand loyalty. Using promotional products helps to give your brand a personality to improve your relationship with your customers. Choosing well-planned and innovative gifts for your customers will create a significant positive impact on your audience while raising your brand’s profile.

Around 72% of customers believe that the quality of a promotional product relates to the reputation of the company they received the product from. Therefore, high-quality promotional products or gifts can create loyal customers. Giving your customer branded items also turns them into brand ambassadors each time they use your product.

If you take the time and resources to ensure proper packaging decisions, you’re showing customers and prospects that you take your brand seriously, and that you strive to provide value and quality. Branded packaging shows that you truly care about their experience and your brand name, which builds loyalty between yourself and your customers. And because bags generate more impressions than any other promotional item in the U.S., this tactic will often lead to referrals and repeat business.

As competition grows and new customer acquisition becomes more expensive, maintaining customer loyalty is more important than ever for businesses. While your competitors may overlook this seemingly small gesture of branded packaging as an unimportant feature to their business, you can fill the gap and make the most of this large opportunity to stand out.

Pride in Your Product

With all of the competition out there likely having similar products, it’s generally quite hard to stand out in the marketplace. One of the best ways to do this can be through the message you are conveying through your packaging. A well designed, well thought out package is going to show your customers you care more than if you send them home with your product in a bag that has a smiley face on the front.

Unique packaging will also show them that you take pride in what you do, and that you care about making every aspect of their experience with your brand count.

Let’s say a customer is looking for a new journal to help him or her stay organized and complete a very important upcoming project. While many may think this is just some dime-a-dozen purchase, as the retailer, it is much more than paper to you. Your potential customer searches and finds that there are two stores in the same shopping mall that sell the journal he or she wants.

Your company wraps the new journal in a soft-white tissue paper and places it inside of a small black box engraved with the company logo. Your employee places the box in a stylish paper bag also tagged with your business name.

Your competitor takes your new journal, places it in a white plastic bag with the generic red “thank you” across it, and hands it to their customer.

Which company is going to stick out in the customer’s mind as valuing that product? It’s likely he or she will remember this experience next time they are shopping, and will come back to your company for your careful service and distinct marketing. Your brand has just created a loyal customer by taking a few extra steps to make that shopper feel valued, and also like they purchased something of high value.

Packaging of All Kinds

As alluded to in the example above, there is more than one way to create a custom experience through packaging. While the most common method is a paper or plastic bag, it might be worthwhile to incorporate some other elements as well. Here are some ideas:

• Different kinds of bags, such as paper, plastic, or fabric
• Tissue paper with a unique design or your logo
• Decorative boxes are great for mailing, as well as protecting more fragile/valuable items. You can get many uniquely shaped boxes to help stand out
• Ribbon to tie around a box comes in various materials and colors
• Wrapping paper is great for special occasions or businesses whose customers often purchase gifts for others

Including your logo and/or company colors on the packaging is a great way to keep your branding consistent. This allows customers to more regularly recognize your brand when they see either of those elements in the future.

Increase Sales

Eighty-three percent of Americans enjoy receiving promotional products with messages for advertising, making them an effective way to generate leads for your company and increase sales. Since these items can make long-lasting impressions on new or existing customers, you are more likely to see a return on your investment. Your promotional products can also help boost website traffic by incorporating digital rewards in promotional packages. These digital rewards can take users to a company landing page that will capture their information for future use.

Another way to use promotional products to generate leads into sales involves incorporating your product into your sales pitch. Your company can also use promotional products as an incentive for customer referrals. Using promotional products in giveaway tiers will keep potential customers engaged and will help deepen conversations.

Competitive Advantage

Since you can craft your promotional product to be unique to your company or brand, they can give you an edge over the competition. At ePromos, we have a wide variety of promotional products available. From baseball hats to stress balls, your possibilities are enormous. A primary benefit of promotional products is that you can tailor them to fit your specific customer audience. Many companies view their promotional products as an opportunity to showcase their personality and creativity.

If your business has a catchphrase or a unique slogan, you can print it on your promotional items for a memorable impact. When choosing your promotional products, be sure to purchase a wide variety that can appeal to your various audience demographics. For example, use current trends such as fidget toys or popular chocolate treats as your promotional products to appeal to a younger audience.

Satisfy Customers and Employees

Creating positive working relationships with your employees and customers is vital for any business. Satisfied customers are a high-quality source for referrals and will stay loyal to your brand. The main reason a company may lose a customer is not due to prices or customer service but how their customers feel. If your customers feel that you are indifferent to their business, they will choose to spend their money elsewhere.

While you may provide a quality product and expert customer service, go the extra mile with promotional products. Seven out of 10 customers want to receive promotional products more often. This makes promotional products a valuable way to show your best customers you appreciate their business.

Whether your business only has a few employees or over a thousand, you know that each employee is a valuable asset. Giving your employees promotional products can help create a deep sense of team identity and boost company morale. Making these products things they can use in their daily lives, such as water bottles or coffee mugs, also gives your brand an extra promotion boost. Many people will keep branded items such as outerwear for up to 16 months, leading to increased opportunities for exposure.

Giving your employees branded items such as clothing also allows them to continue representing your company when they are out of uniform or off the clock. Many companies use promotional products to recognize achievements such as years of service or personal events such as birthdays and holidays.

Start Promoting Your Business With Corporate Branded Products Today

Understanding the benefits of promotional products is essential to the success of any advertising campaign. By learning more about your customers and what they need, your business can give them a promotional gift they will use daily.

Contact the experts at ePromos to learn how you can use corporate promotional products to expand your customer base and receive a higher return on your marketing investment. Call us at 877-377-6667 to learn more today!